At a recent preview, the star trotting the stage of Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater had a command that was palpable. The audience seemed to watch his every victory with cries of delight, and shouts of dismay at his peril. Not a bad bit of scene-stealing, especially since the performer in question has no lines and is, in fact, made of leather, wire and cane. Even so, Joey, the life-size horse puppet at the center of the play "War Horse," has the power to eclipse anything — and anybody — on the stage.

MOVIES Attend a screening of "Killer Klowns From Outer Space," a camp classic featuring creepy clown puppets by the Chiodo Brothers, who are masters of special effects puppetry. Their handiwork has spanned decades, from the toothy fur balls in the Critters franchise to the gun-toting, epically vomiting marionettes in "Team America: World Police. " The Chiodo Brothers will host a Q&A after the film. Cinefamily at the Silent Movie Theater, 611 N. Fairfax Ave., L.A.. 11:50 p.m. Fri., $10. (323)

Parents with younger kids: New Year's Eve in the club is back on ? and it doesn't mean a puppet show! Ushering in 2011 on a wave of laughs, husband and wife team Bob and Naomi Odenkirk, fixtures in the L.A. comedy scene, are putting on their second annual "Not Inappropriate Show," and it promises to be a sophisticated yet silly mix of humor for adults and kids alike. Playing Friday and Sunday at the edgy Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Hollywood, the "Not Inappropriate Show" brings together some of L.A.'s best funnymen (and women)

December 29, 2010 | By Daina Beth Solomon, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Warning to all nostalgic "Sesame Street" fans: The puppets in "Stuffed and Unstrung" are not the Muppets. They do hail from Jim Henson's Creature Shop, and they do exude childlike charm. An orange-haired girl with spongy purple skin accessorizes her tweed suit with pearls. Another, whose bright yellow nose sticks out 5 inches, wears blue hair tied in pigtails. And a rock-star gorilla sports sunglasses, studded bracelets and hoop earrings. But this cast of 80 puppets doesn't work from a script.

Van Snowden Puppeteer for 'Pufnstuf,' 'Pee-wee's Playhouse Van Snowden, 71, who inhabited the costumed character H.R. Pufnstuf in the 1970 film and was the lead puppeteer on "Pee-wee's Playhouse" on television, died of cancer Sept. 22 at a Burbank hospital, said a spokesman for producers Sid and Marty Krofft. After donning the dragon suit for "H.R. Pufnstuf," produced by the Krofft brothers, Snowden worked with them on projects that included the 1970s TV series "The Bugaloos" and " Land of the Lost.

September 9, 2010 | By Katherine Tulich, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Lead puppeteer Kara Klein is "dino-checking" her ankylosaurus. From a podium at the rear of the Honda Center in Anaheim, she is getting her 12-foot-tall, 34-foot-long dinosaur to move its head, tail and even gently nudge one of the technicians on the floor all by manipulating a small metal claw contraption dubbed the "voodoo rig. " "We take him through every axis of motion to make sure he is working correctly," she says. It takes two puppeteers and one driver for each of the 10 roaring and snarling creatures to make their way through the arena, while five smaller dinosaurs including a baby T. rex are operated by performers inside the suits.

In the annals of odd jobs, this recent listing ranks high. "The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County seeks . . . a full-suit puppeteer for a saber-toothed cat. " "Extremely hot, claustrophobic full-suit puppet with limited sight range. … ," it went on. "Must carry 73 pounds on back in a crawling position, supported by arm stilts for periods of 20 minutes, multiple times a day. " More than 100 people sent in resumes for the chance to face these tough working conditions in a new museum show, "Ice Age Encounters.

LONG BEACH BBQ, Brews and Red, White & Blues When, where: July 3 and 4, the Queen Mary Highlights: Celebrate the Fourth of July with live music, a down-home barbecue (including a build-your-own strawberry shortcake station), an impressive fireworks display, dancing under the stars and children's activities, all aboard one of the world's most famous ships. Cost: $25; $22 for military service members and senior citizens; $13 for ages 5 to 11; free for children younger than age 5; overnight packages start at $169; parking is $15 a car. Admission does not include food.

It's been only a few years since Dr. Drew Pinsky first brought C-list celebrities and invasive video cameras to the Pasadena Recovery Center to film "Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew," and already it's a punchline. At the beginning of each episode of the crude, fantastical, tragic- comedy series "Warren the Ape" ( MTV, Mondays at 10:30 p.m.), our protagonist, a down-on-his-luck puppet attempting to build a comeback after losing an acting career to addiction, sits with Dr. Drew in the same chair that's held the likes of Heidi Fleiss, Jeff Conaway and Rodney King.

The freeway appears regularly in L.A. art — works by Ed Ruscha, Dennis Hopper and Catherine Opie come to mind — but rarely does art grace the Southland's concrete corridors. There is graffiti, of course, and a smattering of decaying murals, but for the most part, the freeway is an artistic wasteland. Until now. Coming to select rush hour traffic jams this summer: "Superclogger," a mobile puppet theater by Los Angeles artist Joel Kyack. Accompanied by fellow artist Michael Hayden, Kyack performs shows out of the back of his nondescript white pickup truck for anyone who happens to be driving behind it. Commissioned by the Culver City non-profit LAXART, "Superclogger" began its crawl through the Southland's most congested stretches of freeway on June 1, on the 405. (Kyack monitors the flow of traffic on Google Maps to find the slowest spots.